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Gen VS ZF rep comparison: grey 15500
- Thread starter legend
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Bro If you check a few pages up [mention]tinitonsi [/mention] did exactly that
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I'll go check that!
Well it's versus a grey dial, someone order the zf 15500 blue and send it to him for the review?
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Great review.
The dial looks really dark in my opinion, the rest is really well done.
Silencing the rotor would be awesome as a little tutorial. On my black one it's really annoying.
You mentioned "softening the edges of the bracelet". What's the best way to do this? I already read a lot about a bath in baby oil.
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The dial looks really dark in my opinion, the rest is really well done.
Silencing the rotor would be awesome as a little tutorial. On my black one it's really annoying.
You mentioned "softening the edges of the bracelet". What's the best way to do this? I already read a lot about a bath in baby oil.
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as you said on its own the dial colour seems to look good. compared to gen maybe a bit off but it also changes with light etc. great review. thank you
+1 on silencing rotor tutorial!
There are some here, but not for 15500, and not from the Master himself
Legend, do you find any difference in quality built on "feelings" level? Something that photos do not convey?
I've yet to compare this to gen AP, but when I compare it to my gen Rolexes, there is some difference.
Overall, Rolex feels very "solid" and "monolith", build quality is very robust, gaps between parts is minimal and so is the movement of the parts which should not move (e.g., SEL joint).
ZF feels more "noisy", but not just because of the rotor sound - bracelet produces sounds when you shake the watch as well, I assume because there is some play / backlash between its parts which is perfected in Gens.
Basically, I would say when I look at ZF it looks as 99% of a $20k watch, huh.
But if I take ZF with closed eyes I could say that it costs fraction of that - even with rotor silenced.
Do you experience something like this when comparing to Gen 15500?
There are some here, but not for 15500, and not from the Master himself
Legend, do you find any difference in quality built on "feelings" level? Something that photos do not convey?
I've yet to compare this to gen AP, but when I compare it to my gen Rolexes, there is some difference.
Overall, Rolex feels very "solid" and "monolith", build quality is very robust, gaps between parts is minimal and so is the movement of the parts which should not move (e.g., SEL joint).
ZF feels more "noisy", but not just because of the rotor sound - bracelet produces sounds when you shake the watch as well, I assume because there is some play / backlash between its parts which is perfected in Gens.
Basically, I would say when I look at ZF it looks as 99% of a $20k watch, huh.
But if I take ZF with closed eyes I could say that it costs fraction of that - even with rotor silenced.
Do you experience something like this when comparing to Gen 15500?
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I would be interested to know this too. Is an oil bath what is meant or some emery paper perhaps to the “sharp” corners of the bracelet? Thanks.
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Very good point.
To be honest, if I am to blindfold myself and pick up a watch in each hand, I will need to rely on the bracelet feel and the sound of the movement to tell which is which.
A silenced rep will eliminate the tell of sound and a bracelet edge bevel, polish and softening will eliminate the tell of feel.
The ZF rep looks impressive on its own to be honest. Without the gen side by side comparison, and without expert knowledge of the watch, the watch can be called out only by scrutinizing the dial finish and color (I reiterate that grey, black and blue all have this same issue). The gen dial texture and tapisseries are different from the rep ones, and if you know what to look for, you know if a 15500 is gen or rep. Drop in a gen dial and this tell is eliminated as well.
The datewheel may be something which shows off AP craftsmanship, but in real life, I cannot see the difference and I am not going to pretend to see one just because I own the gen. :hehehe:
I hardly if ever wear my 15500 but being a AP watch collector, I will still keep it in my possession and likely in the safe. If I ever feel the urge to wear one, a modded ZF 15500 will serve nicely. Yes it is not perfect, yes it is not 1:1. But it is good enough for a wrist novelty and I think for most members here, that is reason good enough.
Great answer!
Agree. Look, of course it is still identifiable, I don't worry much about this - I care more about it being a great watch in itself : )
Which it is! My question is "without an AP logo, would this watch still be a good deal for $500" and my answer is "even for $1500 it's a good watch".
Heck, it's build quality is not that far from my gen Omega, for example, and exceeds it in some points.
For guys discussing the bracelet: my feeling of the bracelet have changed drastically after 1 week of wearing the watch and washing it with soap multiple times. Bracelet has softened.
jcguo0516
Active Member
- 4/12/18
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hopefully ZF will rep this one, honestly i think i love this dial more than the blue for some reason
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Awesome Legend, thanks for that.
For those asking, there are loads of 'silence rotor' threads out there. Molykote is the best solution I've found for noisy Miyotas. I've tried various 'correct' oils to lube it, but they do bugger all. Molykote is the best hack ever. Totally silenced my Miyota. Check other tutorials, but basically take your rotor off. Use an oiler or similar to dab a tiny amount of Molykote into the bearings, use a toothpick to rotate the bearings, clean up any excess with rodico and put it back together. Silence!
Edit - I should add that I'm no modder - pay attention to me at your peril. But my watchsmith told me about the Molykote hack so it's good!
For those asking, there are loads of 'silence rotor' threads out there. Molykote is the best solution I've found for noisy Miyotas. I've tried various 'correct' oils to lube it, but they do bugger all. Molykote is the best hack ever. Totally silenced my Miyota. Check other tutorials, but basically take your rotor off. Use an oiler or similar to dab a tiny amount of Molykote into the bearings, use a toothpick to rotate the bearings, clean up any excess with rodico and put it back together. Silence!
Edit - I should add that I'm no modder - pay attention to me at your peril. But my watchsmith told me about the Molykote hack so it's good!
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Agree, white dial on ROs is a stunner. If I will go for gen, it will be a white one most likely.
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Nice and honest write up legend the ZF15500 is impressive indeed. I just received the grey version as well this morning and I was planning to make a review with my gen blue one.
I completely agree with you in all you said above
Some side by side pics I just took
Are you "Tcheeco" in RWF? That 15500 is really unique with all the dings!
Nice and honest write up legend the ZF15500 is impressive indeed. I just received the grey version as well this morning and I was planning to make a review with my gen blue one.
I completely agree with you in all you said above
Some side by side pics I just took
Are you "Tcheeco" in RWF? That 15500 is really unique with all the dings!
- 1/3/13
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legend thank you so so much for this solid and quality there !
may I ask you re. The crystal you mentioned there is no difference, does your opinion differ in broad daylight please ?
yes I am a sucker for Prof crystal that always give a luxury touch according to my taste on a rep.
Do you think this JF piece would benefit from a Prof crystal please ? My concern his daylight...
cheers
may I ask you re. The crystal you mentioned there is no difference, does your opinion differ in broad daylight please ?
yes I am a sucker for Prof crystal that always give a luxury touch according to my taste on a rep.
Do you think this JF piece would benefit from a Prof crystal please ? My concern his daylight...
cheers
Hello Fire thank you for the kindness.
IMHO the JF crystal is good enough in the daylight but if you scrutinize both closely I am certain that the gen one will show superior clarity, but only under scrutiny. There is a limit to single AR clarity as one side will always remain reflective so I will not upgrade it unless the crystal is of paramount importance to you.
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hopefully ZF will rep this one, honestly i think i love this dial more than the blue for some reason
That’s sexy...
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